AUSTIN RAINBOW SOCKS
I went to visit The Knitting Nest while I was in Austin, Texas for #SXSW (South by South West, a music film and tech conference) last year. I bought some Bernat Mosaic yarn and a set of short 5mm needles and decided to knit my youngest daughter @TheCheekster some rainbow socks. 1 didn't have a pattern, but have made quite a lot of socks recently, so decided to wing it.
I started knitting the socks in the store and finished them on the plane on the way back to London. I think they worked out really well. There's a pic of the first pair lmadeon thelefthereof @TheCheekster wearing them when I got home.l wrote a blog post “Austin Rainbow Socks" about it at the time. 've aimed to make the pattern as easy as possible so that it is suitable for even inexperienced knitters to make their first ever pair of socks. If you follow the pattern and knit these socks I'd love to hear from you. I'd also love to see a pic of your #austinrainbowsocks, do use the hashtag on Instagram or Twitter. Women's small to medium The socks fit both @thecheekster and me, we are size 6 and size 5 % respectively
Finished size
18cm circumference, length to suit you
Materials
Bernat Mosaic [100% acrylic, approx. 191 m per 100g ball] Colour: shown here in "Rainbow" and "Budgie", I love the Bernat Mosaic colourways, they are socolourful. Set of 4 x 5mm double pointed needles, I used the short 12.5cm length needles
Tension
18sts x 24 rows = 4 inches in st st #austinrainbowsocks Copyright @ 2013 Sue Black
Time to knit
I'm an experienced knitter, it takes me about one evening whilst watching TV to make a pair. I'm sure many knitters are faster than me and could possibly make 2 pairs in an evening. If you are an inexperienced knitter it may take you longer but it will be worth it!
Abbreviations
RS = Right Side WS = Wrong Side Sts = Stitches K = Knit P = Purl S1 = Slip 1 stitch from left hand needle to right hand needle. St St = Stocking Stitch, when knitting in the round this is knit every row. SSK = Slip Slip Knit. Slip two sts one by one from the left hand needle to the right hand needle, then knit the two stitches together. SSK is a decrease like K2tog which slants in the opposite direction. K2 P2 rib = (Knit 2sts, Purl 2 sts) repeat until
Directions
Cast on 28 sts over three needles. I do this by casting on 28 sts onto one needle then puttting 10 sts each on needles 1 and 2 and 8 sts onto needle 3.
Rib Knit 5 rounds in K2 P2 rib. Leg Knit 20 rounds in st st. Split the sts so that the first 14 sts are on needle 1, the next 7 on needle 2 and the last 7 on needle3. Working on needle 1 only continue as follows: Row 1: slip 1 st, knit to end turn Row 2: slip 1 st, purl to end turn Repeat these two rows 5 more times (knit 12 rows in total) TurnHeel Row 1: Knit 8 sts, SSK, knit 1, turn Row 2: Slip 1, p3, p2 tog, p1, turn Row 3: S1, K4, SSK, K1, turn Row 4: S1, p5, K2 tog, K1, turn Row 5: S1, p6, p2 tog, turn Row 6: K8 (8 sts)
Gusset Pick up and knit 7sts down left side of heel. Knit across 14 sts on needles 2 and 3 onto one needle. Pick up and knit 7sts up right hand side of heel and then across the first 4sts on needle 1. You should now have 36sts across 3 needles. Repeat the next 2 rounds until you have decreased back down to 28sts across the three needles. Row 1: knit all sts Row 2: knit to last 2 sts on needle 1, SSK, knit across sts on needle 2, needle 3: K2tog, knit to end. Foot When you have 28sts across all sts continue knitting in st st until foot measures 2cm less than the required finished length. As long as you are careful to keep your sts on the needles you can put the sock on and try for size as you go along. For our socks this measurement is 10cm.
Toe shaping Repeat the next 2 rows 3 times Row 1: Needle 1 - knit to last 2 sts k2 tog, needle 2 - SSK, knit to last 2 sts K2tog, needle 3 - SSK knit to end. Row 2:Knit You should have 14 sts remaining. Place sts from needles 1 and 3 onto the same needle, you should have 7sts each on 2 needles.
Break yarn at about 30cm and using Kitchener stitch to graft the sts together. I couldn't do Kitchener stitch until I watched this video "Kitchener stitch to finish a sock" and suddenly it all madesense. Finishing Bind off and sew in ends. Your sock is finished, well done! Yay! Now take a pic and post it on instagram or Twitter, tag me @Dr_ Black and #austinrainbowsocks. I can't wait to see them!
About #austinrainbowsocks' designer
Sue Black lives in London, UK. She LOVES knitting and social media. She has been knitting since she was 4, and crocheting since she was 8. That's now a very long time :-0 Sue is @Dr Black on Twitter, blackse on Ravelry, and blogs at "The Adventures of a Cheeky Geek".
